Farmer confidence surges, is highest since trade war began With Trump tariff payments boosting Corn Belt farm revenue, farmer confidence shot to its highest level since last June, just before the trade war began against China, said the monthly Ag Economy Barometer published by Purdue University. 2018 joins the roll… Continue reading

Trade war panned as China buys more U.S. soy Two outspoken Kansans scored the trade war with China as needlessly disruptive, with Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts comparing it to the five-week partial government shutdown and economist Barry Flinchbaugh urging Congress to curtail President Trump’s power to impose tariffs. Early… Continue reading

Trump tariff payments top $6.4 billion as deadline nears The USDA has received nearly 805,000 applications and paid out $6.41 billion so far in the Trump tariff payments created to buffer the impact of the China-U.S. trade war, said the USDA on Monday. In trade war respite, China buys 2.25… Continue reading

China and U.S. are a long way from ending trade war The tenor of Sino-U.S. negotiations is heartening but “we’re still a long way” from resolving the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at a cattle industry conference. As promised, administration proposes stricter… Continue reading

When Super Bowl XLVIII kicks off Feb. 3 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta Georgia., football fans may be surprised to know how agriculture plays into the gridiron game plan. • From leather footballs to fan-favorite snacks, the big Bowl would not be as Super without the products of farmers… Continue reading

At the White House, Chinese official says his country will buy more U.S. soybeans In a letter read aloud at the White House, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing will buy more U.S. farm exports, a decision that President Trump hailed on Thursday as a sign of good faith in… Continue reading

According to a 2017 report from the Center for Biological Diversity, nearly 1 in 4 pollinators are imperiled and at increasing risk of extinction. What’s killing the bees? Neonicotinoid pesticides, sold by Bayer, and used by Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) to pretreat seeds (which adds to the cost of… Continue reading

Will Trump ask for big SNAP cuts for the third time? In budget proposals in 2017 and 2018, President Trump tried to slash funding for SNAP by about $200 billion over 10 years — roughly one-fourth of its total funding. Now, with Trump close to unveiling his fiscal 2020 budget… Continue reading

Stronger farm safety net needed, says second-largest U.S. farm group Many farmers “are struggling to stay afloat” because of the trade war and persistently low commodity prices, said the National Farmers Union board on Tuesday, calling on Congress and the White House to strengthen the federal safety net. Drought-tolerant corn,… Continue reading

‘Big crops, low prices,’ for a long time ahead, says CBO Farm-gate prices for corn and soybeans, the two most widely grown crops in the United States, are stuck in a rut for years to come, said the CBO on Monday in its long-term budget outlook. Madison, WI, looks at… Continue reading